This invention relates to a bearing and a method of assembling the bearing and, more particularly, this invention relates to an integral shaft bearing (whose typical usage is for a water pump) and a method of assembling the bearing.
A typical water pump used for circulating coolant water for an automobile engine comprises a cylindrical housing with an installation flange on the side nearest the engine and fastened to the cylinder block of the engine by way of the installation flange. Provided on the radial inside of the housing is a rolling element bearing. A typical rolling element bearing is shown in FIG. 7. The typical rolling element bearing generally designated by the numeral 10 comprises a ring forming an outer race 12 having a pair of first and second outer raceways 14, 16, a rotating spindle or shaft 18 forming an inner race and having a pair of first and second inner raceways 20, 22 opposed to the first and second outer raceways 14, 16, respectively. A pulley (not shown) driven by a belt which, in turn, is driven by the crankshaft of the engine is mounted on one end of the shaft, as may be a fan, and an impeller (not shown) is mounted on the other end of the shaft 18. The end 24 of the shaft 18 on which the pulley is mounted has a larger diameter than the other end 26 of the shaft 18. A plurality of balls 28, 29 rides in each of the spaces defined by the first and second inner and outer raceways, respectively. Cages 30, 32 are used to maintain the spacing of the balls 28, 29. Seals 34, 36 may be provided between the ends of the ring 12 and the spindle 18 to prevent the grease filled inside the bearing 10 (when prelubricated with grease) from leaking out, as well as prevent foreign matter such as dirt or steam on the outside from getting inside the unit.
When the drive belt is mounted on the pulley which is fixed to the shaft and on a pulley fixed to the engine driveshaft, the belt is under tension, thereby creating an overhung, or moment, load on the pulley end of the shaft. This leads to various stresses which, in turn, lead to premature wear and shorter life of the bearing. U.S. Pat. No. 5,462,489 to Kan, et al., which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, teaches one such problem involving possible breakage of the shaft and its solution, but this patent does not address other stress-related problems.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,168,316 to Paling, et al., which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, teaches lengthening the life of the unit by using a full complement of balls in mutual contact, and no cage, in the raceways nearer the pulley end of the unit, with spaced-apart balls held in place by a cage in the raceways nearer the impeller end of the unit.
Japanese unexamined utility model application (Jitsukai) No. Sho 53-97701 to Koyo Seiko K. K., which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, teaches a bearing assembly which can use either balls or rollers in both raceways, or balls in the raceways at the pulley end of the shaft and rollers in the raceways at the impeller end of the shaft. The construction of JP 53-97701 uses a shaft having a smaller diameter at the pulley end and balls which are larger in diameter mounted in the raceways at the fan end, thereby reducing the stresses caused at the ball/raceway contact by the drive belt, but increasing the bending stresses within the shaft, causing a greater propensity for the problems outlined in the Kan, et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,231,242 to Yano, et al., which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, teaches a bearing wherein the pulley end of the shaft is larger in diameter than the impeller end, but has a counterbore portion in the outer raceway at the pulley end of the unit, thereby allowing for a full complement of balls in the raceways at that end, but spaced-apart balls in the raceways at the impeller end of the unit. Both sets of balls are the same size and both are held in place by cages. The diameter of the balls is 22-25% of the outside diameter of the outer race or 25-28% of the diameter of the outer raceway at the pulley end of the unit, i.e., the outer raceway which is counterbored.
Regardless of the measures taken to reduce stress, all the prior art bearings are subject to premature failure.
Japanese laid-open (Kokai) patent application No. 2000-314428, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, teaches a method of assembling a prior art bearing. Referring to FIGS. 8A-8 D, in assembling a ball bearing, the first plurality of balls 28 to be placed in the first inner raceway 20 at the pulley end of the unit 10 are first inserted into a first cage 30 to form a first balls-and-cage assembly 38. The first-balls-and cage assembly 38 is slid over the shaft 18 at its pulley end 24 until the balls seat in the first inner raceway 20. The thus-assembled shaft and first ball-and-cage Assembly 40 is then slid, impeller end first, into the outer race 12 through the pulley end of the outer race, until the balls seat in the first outer raceway 14 and the first inner raceway 20 and first outer raceway 14 are lined up. The impeller end of the shaft is then displaced in a direction perpendicular to its axial centerline within the outer race as shown in FIG. 8D. After that, the second plurality of balls 29 is inserted onto the shaft within the outer race at its second outer raceway end, and the second cage 32 is inserted over the shaft and within the outer race to surround the second plurality of balls.
The major disadvantage of the prior art method of assembly is the first set of balls and their cage had to be assembled onto the shaft before being inserted into the housing. This exposed the balls to possible damage and contamination
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a bearing for an apparatus, such as a water pump, having a rotating shaft with a driving element such as a pulley at one end and a driven element such as an impeller at the other end which is free of the aforementioned and other such disadvantages.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a bearing for an apparatus having a rotating shaft with a driving element such as a pulley at one end and a driven element such as an impeller at the other end which reduces the maximum stress and is therefore less susceptible to failure at the end of the shaft opposite the driving element.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an improved bearing for a water pump.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a method of assembling the inventive bearing which is easy and economical to practice.
These and other objects are accomplished by providing a bearing for a water pump or the like having a stepped shaft and a counterbored raceway at the fan or pulley end which allows for use of a larger number of balls in the raceway at the fan or pulley end, and which allows for using larger balls at the impeller end.
While the invention is described by reference to the preferred embodiment of use in a water pump, it is equally useful in any apparatus having an integral shaft driven at one end and driving a device at the other end. Non-limiting examples of such applications are supercharger driveshaft, fan support, idler, and various agricultural uses such as planter wheel, furrowing disk, seed meter, etc. In addition, the inventive bearing could be used in a dentist""s drill or other small device application. The inventive bearing could also be used in an electric motor drive.
The inventive method of assembly of the bearing includes inserting the first ball and cage assembly into the outer race at its pulley end, then sliding the shaft, impeller end first, into the outer race through the pulley end such that the first inner raceway and the first balls align with the first outer raceway. The shaft is then displaced in a direction perpendicular to its axial centerline within the outer race. A second plurality of balls is inserted onto the shaft within the outer race at its second outer raceway end, and a second cage is inserted over the shaft and within the outer race to surround the second plurality of balls.
In its broadest aspect, the inventive bearing comprises:
A. an outer race having spaced-apart first and second outer raceways on its inner peripheral surface;
B. a rotating shaft forming an inner race having spaced-apart first and second inner raceways on its outer peripheral surface, said first and second inner raceways being opposed to said first and second outer raceways, respectively, and forming first and second ball-receiving spaces therebetween; and
C. a first set of a first plurality of freely rolling first balls incorporated into said first ball-receiving space and a second set of a second plurality of freely rolling second balls incorporated into said second ball-receiving space;
D. said shaft having a first, proximal, end axially extending beyond said first raceway and adapted to be driven by a driving element and a second, distal, end axially extending beyond said second raceway and adapted to transmit rotation to a working element;
E. said shaft being stepped from a first diameter at the proximal side of said first raceway to a second diameter at the distal side of said first inner raceway;
F. said first outer raceway having a counterbore portion;
G. said first plurality of balls being larger than said second plurality of balls; and
H. said second balls being larger in diameter than said first balls.
In a preferred embodiment, the driving element is a belt-driven pulley, although any equivalent construction for driving the apparatus, all of which are well-known in the art, such as a sprocket wheel, may be used.
In another preferred embodiment, the relationship among the first diameter of the shaft (denoted as d1 in FIG. 1), the second diameter (denoted as d2 in FIG. 1), and a diameter formed by the balls in said first inner raceway (denoted as b1 in FIG. 2c), is d1 greater than b1 greater than d2. An annular bead in the portion of the shaft denoted as having the diameter d2 which is slightly larger than b1 would be equivalent to d2 being smaller than b1.
In a more preferred embodiment, the shaft could be further stepped from the second diameter to a third diameter (d3), from the third diameter to a fourth diameter (d4) at the distal side of said second inner raceway, and from the fourth diameter to a fifth diameter (d5) at the distal end of said shaft, wherein d1 greater than b1xe2x89xa7d2xe2x89xa7d3xe2x89xa7d4xe2x89xa7d5.
Another aspect of the present invention is the method of assembling the bearing. The inventive method of assembling the bearing, comprises:
A. inserting said first plurality of balls into a first cage to form a first ball and cage assembly;
B. inserting said first ball and cage assembly into said outer race at its first outer raceway end;
C. sliding said shaft, distal end first, into said outer race through said first outer raceway end such that said first inner raceway and said first balls align with said first outer raceway;
D. displacing the distal end of said shaft in a direction perpendicular to its axial centerline within said outer race;
E. inserting said second plurality of balls onto said shaft within said outer race at its second outer raceway end; and
F. inserting a second cage over said shaft and within said outer race to surround said second plurality of balls.